Maryland man says Obamacare ‘killed my little sister’

In a heart-wrenching and rare guest column posted Monday at Ann Coulter’s website, Doug Graham, a Maryland resident who works in equipment development for the U.S. military, said in no uncertain terms that Obamacare killed his little sister.

“This Wednesday, my little sister, Julie, will be buried. She died because she delayed seeking health care for what turned out to be a catastrophic condition after her private health insurance policy was cancelled because of Obamacare. As she waited for a new Obamacare-approved policy to kick in, her condition deteriorated to the point that it was too late,” he wrote.

Graham said his sister, her husband and four children had insurance coverage they liked, but despite Obama’s promises they, like millions of others, lost their coverage due to Obamacare.

Unfortunately, he said, his sister got sick while they waited for their government-approved healthcare plan to kick in.

“She couldn’t keep down solid food,” he said. “She should have gone to a doctor. But she toughed it out, as many people do, until her new coverage would kick in on February 2. She and her husband didn’t have a lot of money, so she didn’t want to incur what she thought were avoidable medical expenses.”

But it turns out his sister’s condition was far more serious than anyone thought. Instead of suffering from an upset stomach or food poisoning, Julie had a badly blocked gall bladder that had become highly infected.

“Her body went into septic shock just two days before her Obamacare policy would have kicked in,” he wrote. “Her kidneys shut down. She went to the emergency room where, after heroic efforts, a marvelous medical team managed to stabilize her condition.”

Graham recalled his final moments with his sister: “She could not move, or speak, but a tear trickled down her check when she saw the eldest daughter of her four children. After I left, hoping for the best, I learned the next day that her gentle heart stopped beating around 4:00 a.m.”

“So, while the White House sends out talking points to the talking heads who proclaim Americans will be better off because Obamacare forced them off of inadequate health care plans, my family knows better,” he said.

Graham observed the detrimental impact Obamacare is having on the country — loss of jobs, reduced hours worked, higher cost of coverage and a shift from full-time to part-time employment.

But he said the greatest cost of Obamacare is human lives.

“But for my family, the debate ended with the death of my sister. For us, it’s not about ‘policy,’ anymore. It’s about the tragic consequences that can happen when the government decides to cancel the private economic decisions of individuals in favor of a huge policy experiment created in the back rooms of Washington by out-of-touch bureaucrats, statisticians and lobbyists,” he wrote.

“As far as we are concerned, Obamacare killed my little sister and left a good man a widower, and four children without their mother,” he added.

“This does have real world consequences,” Coulter told Tucker Carlson during an appearance on “Fox and Friends.”

Carlson said the story is shocking, but Coulter disagreed.

“It’s expected,” she said. “We knew this would happen. It’s a horrible story, and people need to know about these stories.”

The question now is: How many more people will die because of Obamacare?

Joe Newby is an IT professional. He has written for Conservative Firing Line, Examiner, NewsBusters, and Spokane Faith and Values.

Commenting Policy

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, vulgarity, profanity, all caps, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain a courteous and useful public environment where we can engage in reasonable discourse.